by Timothy Rutt
We now have a date: after a hard birthing process, the Altadena Farmers' Market plans to launch on Wed., May 30 at Loma Alta Park.
Market manager Joseph Shuldiner said that "I'm super excited about putting this inaugural group of sellers together. They will firmly establish Altadena as the epicenter of the burgeoning urban food movement."
The proposed market has had more ups and downs than a ride at Magic Mountain, with one manager taking the job and backing out, Shuldiner taking on the job and being mired in negotiations for months with Los Angeles County, opening dates announced and passing without any market to be seen.
So what changed? Key to getting the market underway was Altadena Heritage agreeing to take on the role of market sponsors and permit holders. According to Heritage's Michele Zack, "Joseph is organizing the market, Altadena Heritage is sponsoring it and is the permittee. All the back and forth between Joseph and [the] county since last August was getting nowhere until the county and Joseph asked AH to sponsor."
By having the non-profit Altadena Heritage as sponsor and permittee, Zack said that "it allowed the county to back off on many requirements it would have if a purely for-profit biz is holding a public event. We are very happy to facilitate this, and if we didn't believe in Joseph's abilities (as does the county) we wouldn't stick out our necks like this."
Shuldiner is by trade a book designer (he designs many books for Prospect Park Media in Pasadena) and he is a well-known in the local foodie community as director of the Institute for Domestic Technology and one of the driving forces behind the Altadena Underground Farmer's Market. Since the county tapped him as market manager last year, he has been reinventing himself as a farmer's market manager and consulting with other managers in the area, as well as building relationships with farms and small food producers.
Among the vendors he has tenatively booked for the market -- some in the Los Angeles area for the first time -- are "The Garden Of ..." produce and flowers (Los Olivos); Kenter Canyon Farms, Drake Family Farms (goat cheese) the Los Angeles Bread Bakers, and Mother Moo Creamery from Sierra Madre. Shuldiner has said he hope the market will also be a produce source for local restaurants.
Shuldiner said there will be a formal announcement at the April 17 Altadena Town Council meeting, and a full list of vendors will be available soon.
